Oregon Brewers Festival Recap
And what a weekend it was. As we look back on a great weekend at the Oregon Brewers Festival, it's pretty amazing to think that there's still nearly an entire week left to enjoy Oregon Craft Beer Month. But before gearing up for the home stretch, I wanted to offer up my impressions of the OBF.
Having moved to Portland just after last year's fest, this was my first Oregon Brewers Festival experience. Overall, I thought the festival was great. While beer obviously plays a central role in any beer festival, I appreciated the fact that OBF includes a variety of festivities and experiences that work to create a real festival atmosphere. Unfortunately, I missed the opening day parade and keg-tapping, but in reading reviews from others in attendance, it's obvious that the opening ceremony really helped set the tone for a great weekend.
Before the festival got started on Thursday, I had posted my picks for the Oregon Brewers Festival. These were all beers I had never had before. And after visiting the fest a couple times this weekend, I'm pretty happy that I was able to try all but one on my list (sadly, the beer I wasn't able to try was Flying Fish Exit 4 - which was well received and made several peoples' best of the fest lists).
My Picks for the Oregon Brewers Festival
The Oregon Brewers Festival starts today! While I've been distracted recently by the seemingly endless number of Oregon Craft Beer Month events, I thought I'd follow Brewpublic and Portland Beer and Music's lead and share my beer picks for the fest. Here are the beers - with descriptions offered by Gary Corbin - that I'll be seeking out this weekend:
- Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale: A simple beer from a technical standpoint, what makes it unique is the blend of a Belgian yeast and citrusy Amarillo hops on a grain bed of pale malt, malted and unmalted wheat, and corn flakes. Yes, corn flakes. And with that milky white head, you could call it breakfast. It's named for the famously "recalcitrant" fermentation tank in which it came to life.
- Boundary Bay German Tradition Double Dry Hopped Pale Ale: Made especially for the Oregon Brewers Festival, this beer gets its name from the German Tradition hops used in all four hop additions, including two dry-hoppings. Two-row and Munich malts fill out the simple grain bill and provide malt balance to Tradition's medium-level bittering and citrus flavor and aroma.
- Caldera Hibiscus Ginger Beer: This beer is not about the hops. Ginger root, beets and hibiscus flowers provide its unique spicy, zesty flavors and aromas. Belgian candi sugar boosts the fermentables provided by 2-row and Carafoam malts. Ginger and hibiscus are boiled with the wort, along with a small amount of Willamette hops. The beer is "dry-flowered" with hibiscus. It was brewed special for the OBF, so get it before it's gone.
- Flying Fish Exit 4: This inspired Belgian-style Trippel has a hazy golden hue and the aroma of citrus with hints of banana and clove. Predominant Belgian malt flavors give way to a subdued bitterness in the finish. This beer is worthy of high praise, having won a gold medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival and named by Men's Journal as the best Belgian beer brewed in America for 2009.
- Great Divide Hoss: Based on the Marzen lagers of Bavaria, this award-winning brew (bronze - GABF 2009; World Beer Cup, 2010) boasts rich, layered malt notes with hints of cherry and dark fruits. The unique addition of rye imparts a slightly earthy, spicy character. Thanks to lagering and a proprietary clean-finishing yeast, Hoss finishes crisp and dry, with just a hint of Perle and Hersbrucker hops.
- Rock Bottom Oud Heverlee: This beer is steeped with both Belgian tradition and its correspondingly unusual ingredients. Dried tulips add a "weet niet het" flavor in the local vernacular - sort of a floral-crossed-with-umami kind of thing. Also, only specially-aged "vloer suipt" Sterling hops are used to bring out their best, most "noble" flavor. The Belgian-style yeast brings out notes of pepper and apricot.
- Rogue 21: Brewmaster John Maier has brewed a different beer for OBF for 21 years in a row; to honor the OBF and John’s “21er,” John brewed a one-time batch of an Olde Ale, called 21 Ale. It's brewed with 14 ingredients: 2-row, Briess Amber, C-40, Wyermann Carafa & Rogue Farms RiskTM Malt; Willamette, US Goldings & Rogue Farms Revolution Hops; Simpsons Golden Naked Oats; Franco-Belges Carawheat; molasses, brewer’s licorice, Wyeast Old Ale Blend yeast & free range coastal water.
- Sierra Nevada Tumbler: Sierra Nevada uses malt within days of roasting at the peak of its flavor to give Tumbler a gracefully smooth malt character. Two-row pale, crystal 40, chocolate and smoked malts give it a malty complexity. Challenger hops in the boil add balancing bitterness, while more Challengers and some Goldings give just enough hop flavor in the finish to balance all that malt.
- Surly Bitter Brewer: On top of its base of 2-row pale ale malt, Simpsons Golden Naked Oats, crystal malt and roasted barley gives this beer its extra smooth, slightly sweet taste and dark amber color. Glacier hops are used as first-wort hops, in the whirlpool, and for dry-hopping, with Columbus for additional bittering. The result is a malty, moderately-hopped, highly drinkable session bitter.
- The Bruery 7 Grain Saison: Two-row pale malt, rye, oats, unmalted wheat, flaked rice, flaked maize and spelt comprise this unique beer's complex grain bill. By contrast, only moderate amounts of Magnum and Sterling hops balance the malt's sweetness. The house Belgian-style strain provides a spicy character in the finish.
- Widmer Brothers Captain Shaddock IPA: People sometimes describe the aromas and flavors of hoppy IPAs as "grapefruit." Hell, why not use some then? Widmer's brewing team used a simple IPA recipe and added a generous amount of dried grapefruit peel to the end of the boil. The aroma is a melody of citrus, with a slight spice undertone, accentuated by the use of Citra hops. The flavor is that of nice hop forward IPA with the bitterness of grapefruit.
Please note, these beers and descriptions were part of the lineup made available to media on July 16th. The festival's website offers a list of all the beers that will be pouring here. The fest starts today at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland and runs through Sunday.
Photos: Camping & Beer
Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest at Scott Lake, OR
Deschutes Hop in the Dark at Scott Lake
Silver Moon Hop Knob IPA at Natural Bridge, Rogue River
Taster Trays
Tasters at Bend Brewing
They're not for everyone, but when I'm checking out a brewery for the first time, I'll usually inquire about getting a taster tray. I like the fact that a taster tray gives you the opportunity to try a variety of a brewery's beers. It gives you a sense of a brewery's style and consistency across its offerings. Taster trays help guide decisions about subsequent beer orders, and they give you an opportunity to try beers you might not otherwise typically order.
While out of town last week, I had two different experiences that prompted me to think more (or perhaps a little too much) about taster trays. The first was at Bend Brewing. I had never been to the brewery and wasn't familiar with many of the brewery's beers. I inquired about a taster tray, and the bartender asked me if I wanted to try all ten beers. Some quick math (ten beers x 5 oz pours = 50 oz of beer before lunch, by myself) led me to explore other options. Here, it was easy. "Or, tasters are a buck a piece," said the bartender. I wish more places offered the same deal. I ordered a more manageable four 5-ounce pours.
Everyone wants to start a brewery. No one wants to invest in one.
Lisa Morrison leads a conversation with Irene Firmat, Jamie Floyd and Charlie Devereux
While this statement may not be entirely true, the audience responses to the opening questions at last week's Oregon Entrepreneurs Network PubTalk suggested that it may not be far from the truth. The event was a panel discussion featuring Irene Firmat of Full Sail Brewing, Jamie Floyd of Ninkasi, and Charlie Devereux of Double Mountain talking about three points: 1.) What does it take to start a brewery, 2.) Should I invest in a craft beer startup? and 3.) What's the outlook for the industry?
The panel was moderated by Lisa Morrison, who opened the session with a question to the audience: "Who is here because they want to open a brewery?" The question was met with a sea of hands shooting into the air. The follow-up question was met with a much different response:"Who is here because they want to invest in a brewery?" Silence fell on the room as a few brave potential investors raised their hands.
A Migration Towards a Niche Market
McKean Banzer-Lausgerg from Migration Brewing talks about Portland's competitive landscape
In a recent post published at The New School, Ben Edmunds, a columnist for the site, prompted us to think about the point at which Portland would be considered a saturated beer market. Framed in the article as the Portland Beer Apocalypse, Ben offers his take on this very real possibility, saying:
"I fear for the Portland brewpubs. Already forced to compete with a tough restaurant scene, brewpubs are strained by large outlays of cash and credit for brewing systems, as well as the challenge of running both a brewery and restaurant." He goes on to say, "I fear that good beer and the best intentions may simply not be enough to make a brewery succeed. I hope I am wrong, but I’ll be surprised if the city can handle forty-plus breweries and brewpubs sustainably."
Drink Beer, and help PSU students headed to Uganda!
As some of you know, my wife, Jessica, is part of a Portland State University student group heading to Uganda next week as part of a three-week field seminar studying International Community Development. And, as you may imagine, the cost of travel, tuition, and immunizations isn’t cheap. So before the group departs, they’re holding one last fundraising event – which doubles as a bon voyage party – at the newly opened Breakside Brewery in North Portland.
With the support of some generous local breweries, Scott Lawrence, one of Breakside’s owners, has agreed to open early on Saturday with some great beers on tap. Stop by between noon and 3:oopm, grab a pint (or two) and support the PSU student group as they prepare for this amazing opportunity. Featured beers will include:
